As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to grow around the world, China has launched its first commercial underwater computing center. This special facility is located off the southern coast of Hainan province.
A Key Step in China’s National Computing Plan
The underwater center is expected to play an important role in China’s goal of building a large national computing network. It will help manage and process data more efficiently across the country.
Who Built the Underwater Center?
The center was developed by the Hainan branch of HiCloud Tech, a technology company working to improve data storage and energy use. According to company manager Wang Shihua, this underwater system is designed to save power.
How Underwater Data Centers Save Energy
Wang explained that traditional land-based data centers in China use a lot of electricity. On average, their power usage efficiency is around 1.48. But the underwater center in Hainan operates between 1.12 and 1.15, making it more energy efficient.
If both land and underwater centers use one megawatt of electricity, the underwater version can save around 30% to 40% of that power.
China’s Bigger Plan for Computing Power
Over the past three years, China has been working to grow its computing ability. The country aims to increase its total computing power to 300 by the end of the year. To do this, it is building at least 10 national data center clusters in different parts of the country.
